When The Unexpected Happens
by Setsuna24
Summary: After ten years of silence, someone he thought was long dead suddenly contacts Akihito and their closeness has Asami suspecting betrayal. Asami/Akihito, AU (kinda)
1. Chapter 1– Text, girl, and suspicion

Someone he thought was long dead suddenly contacts Akihito and their closeness has Asami suspecting betrayal.

My first fanfiction! English is not my first language so please be kind. Encouragement and constructive criticism are welcomed.

I do not own Viewfinder or any of its characters.

Enjoy

When The Unexpected Happens

Chapter one – Text, girl, and suspicion

Akihito laid exhausted in bed. Asami had kept him engaged in very pleasurable physical activities literally all night long after a remark he made which included the words 'old man' and a sarcastic retort about age slowing people down. Thus he was taken by the older man until early hours of the morning, his body sore and aching to the last fiber. It was difficult to move with the pain that would shoot up his lower back every time he attempted to go clean up sweat and other bodily fluids from his body so he opted to sprawl himself on the soft mattress and stall until his body cooperated.

_'Damn bastard! He seriously overdid it this time'_ he thought shooting daggers at the man coming out of the bathroom. However, his thoughts were forgotten when his eyes trailed lower from Asami's face to his toned arms, his sculptured broad torso, and lower still. Asami stood in his naked glory, much like the sex god Akihito was beginning to think he secretly was, drying his sleek black hair with a white towel. The boy's mouth watered at the thought of touching those abs while being touched by the skillful hands, and oh the pleasurable pain that Asami's big… _'What the hell am I thinking about!? Cool it Akihito! There is no possible way you can take any more, there is just no way.'_

"See anything you like?" Asked Asami with his devious grin plastered on his face.

"As if! I just got caught up thinking about work and stuff"

"Really?" the yakuza said with a low chuckle, "because I was pretty sure you were staring at me" Asami walked to the bed and pinned Akihito beneath him as he spoke in a low husky voice in the boy's ear. " and here I was thinking that if you kept looking at me the way you were I would have to cancel my first meeting for the day to… comply… with your unspoken wishes" he finished as he liked Takaba's earlobe and trailed small kisses down his neck.

"You perverted bastard! You are insatiable, haven't you have enough? You wouldn't let go of me all night"

Asami smirk was infuriating. "If I recall correctly you were the one issuing challenges last night and of course I cannot let a challenge unresolved. Specially such a… delectable one."

Akihito blushed crimson as he remembered what his careless words had caused and made a mental note to never call the man 'old' ever again. Asami had walked to the closet like he had no schedule to keep to and began to dress in his trademark three piece suit. Takaba watched him get dressed and wondered if there was someone in the world who would dare say something about Asami arriving late to an appointment. If there ever was such a situation he was sure that the aura of danger and power around the man would shut them up before words ever left their mouths.

"Don't you have an evil empire to run or something?" he said as he took some pain killers Asami has put on the small table next to the bed and drank some water.

A low chuckle was his only answer, which prompted him to want to say something witty and sarcastic to the older man. However before he was able to say something his phone went off signaling a new text message.

Akihito stretched his arm to reach his cell phone from the top of the night table, wincing as his body had to be shifted slightly to get to it. He was flipping his phone open with one hand as he used the other to put the empty glass on top of the small table when various things happened at the same time. Akihito gasped as he read the message, his hand had missed the table by a few centimeters and when he let go of the glass it fell to the floor breaking and attracting Asami's attention to him.

He re-read the message, his eyes widening in shock and paled visibly. Asami watched him curiously though his face did not betray his current interest.

"Fuck!" said Akihito as he jumped from the bed, all pain forgotten and ran to the bathroom faster than Asami had ever seen him run -and Asami had seen him run plenty of times. The shower could be heard from the bathroom as well as some unintelligible mumble as Akihito showered. _'hm, I wonder what got him so riled up, maybe he is late for a shoot… but he said he did not have to work today.'_

Asami walked to Akihito's cell phone and looked at the text message that shocked and prompted his lover to get out of bed even after the extraneous activities of the night. It was from an unknown number and the content of the message made his jealousy flare up.

**Aki,**

**Meet me at the agreed place**

**At the time settled.**

**Miss you and love you.**

** M**

He put the phone back on the table and walked away towards the closet and finished dressing. '_Was someone trying to take what was his? Was Akihito betraying him? No, he would not be so stupid as to betray him. But there is something going on here that I don't like. Akihito is mine and I will not allow anyone to take what is mine.'_

***VF***

Akihito came out of the bathroom in record speed considering how long he has been known to take showers for. He grabbed the first things he found in the closet caring less than usual about his attire and took his phone putting it in his pocket after checking the time. _'Shit! I'm going to be late, if I don't make it in time I may never get the chance again.' He thought a_s he passed his older lover on his way out of the bedroom but was caught before getting to far.

"Is there something wrong kitten?" asked Asami his golden eyes watching Akihito's hazel orbs intently.

Akihito looked away from Asami's penetrating gaze and lied.

"Nothing… I… I just forgot I had some work to do today and I'm running late, that's all."

Asami knew the boy was lying, his refusal to look at his face as he gave his excuse said it all and he was determined to get to the bottom of this puzzle and find out what his boy was hiding from him. His eyes narrowed in suspicion but he let go of Akihito's hand and watch him walk out of the penthouse. He took his phone out and speed dialed his trusted secretary.

"Kirishima"

"Hai, Asami-sama"

"Akihito is on his way out of the building, have Suoh tail him today and report to me any suspicious activity. Make sure he knows there will be consequences if Akihito manages to lose one of my best men."

"Understood, Asami-sama"

***VF***

_'Shit, shit, shit! I'm not going to make it in time. Think Aki, think! I can't use my Vespa because Asami took my keys and hid them somewhere and taking the bus will take me more time than I have… But the place is not too far from here, if I run and cut trough a couple back ways maybe I can make it. No! I have to make it or I won't have another chance until next month.'_

Akihito ran at full speed across streets and through alleys, crashing into people from time to time and yelling 'I'm sorry' at them without looking back. He was so concentrated in reaching his destination on time that he did not notice Suoh getting out of the BMW as he ran from the penthouse's building and begin to follow him. Suoh was secretly grateful that the brat no longer ran from them at sight because running around chasing a kid was not what he wanted to spend his time doing and the brat could seriously run.

He stayed at a safe distance of the dirty blond mop running like his shoes were on fire but took care not to lose the boy. Across streets, through a small shop, over a fence, through alleyways, and across more streets. _'Either the kid is faster than I remember or I really need to hit the gym again,' _was his thought as he ran after Akihito when suddenly the boy stopped at a park. He almost exposed himself when his sudden stop almost made him lose balance and fall on his face but thankfully he could use a nearby tree to help him hold on and hide from the photographer. He has ducked behind the tree just in time as a second later Akihito was franticly looking around him while trying to regulate his breathing somewhat. Suoh could see him double over and gasp for air while still looking around.

"Fuck! I'm too late!" said Akihito in an angry and loud voice as he looked at his phone's clock. He stood under a big tree in the middle of a small clearing on the park. The clearing was surrounded by trees that provided some coverage from prying eyes though not a lot.

"Actually, you made it just in time. One more minute and I would have already been gone." Said a female voice as a female voice as a girl jumped down from her perch up on a tree branch about three and a half feet above the surprised blond.

"The hell! You almost scared me to death!"

A sweet laugh came from the girl as she pushed the hood of her sweater back to reveal her face. He could not contain himself any longer and rushed the few steps separating them, he hugged her tight and a few tears escaped his eyes as his emotions began to run wild. The girl hugged him back and placed a chaste kiss on Akihito's lips before stepping back and smiling at him. She took his hand and led him to the base of the tree where they sat next to each other still holding hands.

"I missed you so much"

"I know. I missed you too. I just wished you had never left. I… I thought you were dead, you never contacted me after you got to Germany. It broke my heart to think I was never going to see you again."

"You know I had to leave, after everything that happened I could not stay here. I had to go; I had to find a way to be free of that night. I knew I was too weak to do anything back then, too weak for revenge. I could not drag you into this mess, you had a whole life ahear of you and being in contact whith me would only have gotten into trouble. Im sorry Aki but I did it for you, because you are all I have left and I could not risk losing you too."

"ha! Well I get into trouble all the time anyways one more thing would not have been the end of the world you know… but I understand why you disapeared and I don't blame you for it. Have you found freedom from the past then? Is that why you came back?"

"No, I am not free yet. But I will be soon; I just have to finish what they started. I just didn't know that of all places my revenge would lead me back here."

"Can't you just be done? You could start your life again, find someone and be happy, maybe have a family? Haven't you endured enough?"

"I can't Aki, I just can't. Not until this is all done. I can't just put things behind me and forget what they did to me."

Suoh watched the two as the girl placed a quick kiss on Akihito's lips and took his hand to lead him to the base of the tree. He looked at them puzzled as they talked to each other in hushed voices while they sat holding hands under the big oak tree. The proximity of his bosses' lover to this girl he had never seen before was unnerving. They were too close to each other, too familiar. _'What the hell is the brat thinking? Surely he must have lost his mind. He knows what Asami-same would react like when he hears of this. He knew not many things escaped his knowledge, yet here he was, letting this unknown girl touch Asami-sama's property. There is just no way a sane person would risk such wrath.'_

The bodyguard was too far away to listen to the conversation between the two youngsters but he knew two things for sure; he was dreading the moment when he had to report this to his boss and his boss would be pissed.

"Mina-chan, please give up while you still can. I will help you start over." Said the boy as he held his friend by the shoulders and pulled her into another tight hug. She put her hands on his chest and pushed with enough pressure to let him know to let her go and looked into the hopeful hazel eyes.

"Actually Aki, I go by Kali now. It's kind of like a second identity. After all Sayako Mina is dead."

"But…" Akihito's next words were silenced by the girl's index finger on his lips. She smiled that sweet smile he remembered but as he looked at her face he realized the girl he once knew was gone. Her features where the same although more mature and she was as beautiful as ever, but her eyes betrayed her years of suffering and hardship. The sparkle that once gave witness to the innocence and happiness of youth was long ago lost and her cheerfulness had been put out as if someone had thrown sand upon a fire. As he studied her eyes he realized the bubbly, happy and innocent girl he once knew had run around in the mud and gone to school holding hands with was just a memory of the past.

"It's not safe for me to be here in the open too long. I have to go Aki; I will contact you again from a number you can reach me at. Don't speak about seeing me to anyone, not even Kou and Takato. You are the only one who knows that I am still alive and that I am here. When I have settled things I will be counting on you to help me remember what it is like to be a normal person but right now I need to keep being what I am. I need to stay a predator until my prey is gone from this world."

"I understand Min… Kali, I will be here if you need my help. Don't hesitate to ask. Will you be at the safe house? I still pay the rent for it but I did not put it under my name just in case, you know… to keep people from finding it."

"How did you manage to pay for two places at once? Because I doubt you were living there at any point in time."

"I got a small apartment, the rent was cheap and I ate ramen most meals but I just could not bring myself not to have a place for you to hide in just in case you ever showed up and needed to disappear."

"You are a good friend Aki; I am glad you thought about me for all this years and kept a place for me to be safe at."

"That is what friends are for, right? Well… happy hunting… I guess."

"Thanks, I'll contact you soon."

They stood up and look at each other without saying anything before hugging one last time. She turned around and began to walk away.

"Wait!" said the boy quickly grabbing her hand and turning her around. "Do you need any money? I don't have much with me but I can get you some." A blush on Akihito's face showed his embarrassment at not being able to help more.

"It's ok Aki, my 'job' has provided me with more than enough funds over the years. I can take care of things from here on. Well, goodbye."

"Bye"

He watched her go. This girl who had grown up with him, who was one of the most important people in his life – practically a sister, had gone through so much already and still could not be happy. It was a sad thought that someone who had been born the same day as him looked so much older and harsh than her year would account for. She got delt a bad hand in the game of life, good thing she had refused to stop playing though.

Well, this is it for now. I hope you enjoyed it. Please review and comment.

Setsuna24


	2. Chapter 2 - Secrets and Truths

**AN:** Thank you very much! To finderlov and Ryuakilover for the reviews and to hagadoe, finderlov, Chret, and AngelRyuu for following the story. I am really excited that there are some people who like the fic, I hope to post next chapter by Saturday but it depends on how much life gets in the way. I know there might be a little OOCness but please cope with me… Also if there are parts that don't make much sense grammatically feel free to point them out and I'll try to get to it right away. English is not my mother tongue so sometimes things that sound ok in my head don't necessarily make much sense in written word.

As you know, I do not own Viewfinder… I wish I did but it belongs to Yamane Ayano Sensei.

Well, on with the story

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0oo0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

**When the Unexpected Happens**

**Chapter 2: Keeping secrets and learning truths**

The girl was pretty - long black hair tied on a simple braid, simple makeup, and lean body. She was only a couple inches shorter than the brat but her stance showed she was at least an athlete of some kind. Her obvious ease and proximity to Takaba was unnerving at the least. His boss did not like to share his things and the brat was too close to this girl for hell not to break loose about it. He hates being the bearer of bad news, especially when the bad news concerned his very jealous boss' lover.

He watched them talk in hushed voices; it seemed to him like Takaba was pleading to the girl. _'If I could only get closer, but if I do I will blow my cover and the kid will probably run off and make everything more complicated for him.' _Suoh wondered why the girl dressed in such boyish fashion, most girls wore clothes that showed their figures instead of hooded sweaters but he supposed the tight, form fitting pants made up for it.

The pair stood up and looked at each other in silence, they hugged quickly before the girl turned around and began to walk away. There was a look of hopelessness in the boy's face he had not expected as she turned around but before she had gotten far out of his reach he called her back and pulled her arm to turn her around. He said something to her while looking away from her, his cheeks turning a deep pink in embarrassment. She smiled at him, a sweet caring smile- the kind of smile you give someone who knows all your secrets. Then, she walked way once more and Takaba did not stop her this time.

The boy looked sad and in deep thought, he wandered what the young photographer was thinking about when something surprised him. The kid was crying, well not necessarily crying but there were definitely tears coming down his face as he stared at the direction the girl had disappeared to. 'There is something strange going on here, and I have a filling I'm not going to like it.' Akihito sat under the tree again and stayed there with a pensive expression. After fifteen minutes he got a text, got up and walked away as if the weight of the whole world rested on his shoulders. Suoh took his phone out and let out a heavy sigh before he began to text his boss.

**To: Asami-sama**

**I followed him to a park not too far away from the penthouse; **

**He met someone there and is on the move again. **

**I will keep following him and give a complete report later.**

**From: Asami-sama**

**Do not lose him, once he reaches his next location**

**I will send someone to relieve you of duties.**

**Come to Sion and report to me immediately.**

**Let Kirishima know where to send the man.**

**To: Asami-sama**

**Understood Asami-sama**

Suoh followed the boy keeping a safe distance when he recognized the direction they were headed. Fifteen minutes later Akihito entered the obasan's little restaurant where he regularly meets his two best friends for drinks and New Year's celebration.

As soon as the blond photographer ordered a drink Suoh texted Kirishima with the boy's new location and shortly after a tall and rough looking man was put in charge of following Takaba. Suoh headed back to Sion with a feeling of dread in his stomach and cursing his luck for having witnessing the young man's behavior with the mysterious girl, mainly he cursed himself for having to be the one who narrated the situation to his overzealous and jealous boss. A blessing –or a curse- in disguise presented itself to Suoh when he arrived at his boss' office. The man was in the middle of a business meeting with a particularly difficult person, this could be a good thing because it allowed the bodyguard time to think about how he would phrase his report in the most tactful way but also gave his boss too much time to stew in his anger at not being able to know immediately what his pet has been keeping form him. Waiting, Shouh decided, was a double edge sword.

***VF***

At the Obasan's restaurant, Akihito tried his hardest to appear his normal energetic self when all he wanted was to find a way to help his troubled friend. A couple times he was lost in thought and remained silent until his Kou and Takato pointed out that he seemed rather out of it. He brushed off their concern by offering an excuse related to work and a broken camera.

His friends laughed about his seriousness when it came to his job and teased him about his obsession with his cameras. They made comments about something Takaba had done at one point or another because of a camera until they were all laughing about an anecdote that led to another which in turn led to a different one. Pretty soon the three were recalling funny moments of their past as alcohol built a cloud on their heads and their silly banter made Akihito forget momentarily all his preoccupations.

Three hours later they were stumbling into Kou's apartment and complaining about the discrepancy of their drinks to food ratio. They were in the middle of a no-rules card game –they were all too drunk to remember them anyways – when someone knocked on Kou's door.

"I'll get it!" Shouted Kou and half ran – half stumbled to the door, opening it. "How can I hel…" His question was halted immediately when he took in the imposing figure before him. The man was tall and broad to say the least and though he wore glasses they did nothing to soften his appearance.

"Excuse me," said Kirishima, "I am here to retrieve Takaba Akihito." After saying this the secretary/bodyguard stepped around Kou and into the small apartment, took Akihito throwing him over his shoulder and walked out leaving both Kou and Takato standing in the doorway with an astonished look and their jaws wide open.

"What the hell Kirishima!" yelled Akihito as he was carried outside thrown over the man's shoulder like a sack of potatoes.

"If I were you, I would be quiet and cooperate. At the moment Asami-sama is in a rather foul mood and there is no telling how long his patience and tolerance will last. Kirishima practically dumped the boy on the back of the limo and went to the passenger seat at the front.

"Aw… did he really have to toss me in here…" Akihito sat up on the leather seat and realized he was not alone. Sitting across from him, still as a statue, was none other than Asami Ryuichi. There is something to be said about Akihito's instincts, his survival instinct specifically was extremely developed. Normally he would have known better - years of working as a criminal photographer and months of living with Asami had honed his ability to assess situations and moods. However such things as subtlety and prudence were thrown out the window when his faculties were hindered by alcohol. At this moment he was way past tipsy and his mouth acted before his brain had a chance to process the situation

"What got your feathers all ruffled up?" he asked as he took in his lovers dark semblance and piercing gaze. To say the yakuza was mad was an understatement and as his eyes narrowed in a scrutinizing fashion Akihito began to feel the tension in the air between them. Something about the way Asami was looking at him made him swallow hard and miraculously he started to sober up immediately.

***VF***

The ride to the penthouse was longer than he ever remembered it being and the fact that Asami did not speak to him even once made him think that he was in deep shit. Problem was; he had no idea why. Upon reaching their home, Asami pushed him forcefully against the wall and took his jaw in his hand making the younger man look him straight to his eyes. Those golden eyes narrowed in silent accusation as a dreaded question came out of the yakuza's lips.

"Tell me Akihito, what did you do today?"

"What do you meand 'what did I do today,' I was with the guys."

"DO NOT lie to me Akihito, you know I will get the truth out of you one way or another." Asami sealed the blon's mouth with a foreceful kiss, he sliped his tongue inside his lover's mouth and claimed every inch of it as his own. _'You are mine Akihito, you will do well to remember it, even if I have to teach you this lesson every day for the rest of our lives.' _Asami let go of Takaba when they were both in need of air.

"Asa..mm..Asami" Akihito made an attempt at talking in between panths but the older man quickly reclaimed his lips while leading them to the bedroom.

He threw the boy on the bed and climbed on top of him kissing him still as his hands took Akihito's and extended them above the the blond's head.

"I will ask you again and this time I expect the truth, what did you do today? Did you meet with anyone?" Asami narowed his golden orbs at Akihito as the boy pondered the questions while with a confused look he gazed up at the heavier man pinning him to the bed.

'_Oh no…'_ Akihito's thought as understanding reached his mind. _'I left this morning in such a hurry that he forgot to check if I was being followed. That means… oh, God… Mina… what have I done? I can't let Asami know about her.'_

Realization dawned on him and Azami could clearly read it on the Akihito's face but the boy offered up no words or answers of any kind but a badly hidden horrified expression. "Fine then, I can do this all night." Said Asami losing the last shred of patience he had. From above his head Akihito could hear a metalick click then as second one and when he tried to break free of Asami's hold he found that the man had cuffed him to the bed's hearboard. He should have expected it really, but this fact did not prevented him from being uterly shocked at his current situation.

Asami kissed him roughly while teasing his nipples with one hand while wet fingers from his other hand found their way into the photographer's entrance; first one, then another – until the boy was nothing than a moaning and panthting mess. Akihito was close to his release when Asami suddenly stopped his ministrations leaving him unfulfilled and waited for Akihito to give him an answer. The boy answered "please… I ..i can't," followed by a string of ininteligible mumbling and begging for release. The yakuza place a cock ring on Akihito preventing him from reaching fulfilment while teasing the blond's sweet spot with his fingers again and again. Asami's desended on Akihito's hard shaft as he took it into his mouth to suck and tease with his expert tongue the way only he knew and the combination of sensations was driving Akihito insane. He didn't know how long long Asami had been pleasurably torturing him in such a manner but to Akihito it felt like it had been going on for hours. His body thrashed on the bed as hes unfulfilled need reduced him to a wanton state he had never know before.

"Asami… ple..please, I can t…take it anymore. Please, let me… oh God please."

"Are you ready to tell me the truth?" said the man with a satisfied smirk knowing that he had broken the boy's stubburn actitude.

"I'll do anything… just.. just.. please, let me cum."

"Then tell me who you belong to."

"To you… I belong to you!"

"Say it with my name"

"I… I belong to Asami!"

"Come on Akihito, you know better than this," Asami said chuckling into Akihito's ear. "which Asami? You could be talking about my father for all I know."

"I belong to Asami Ryuichi!" he cryed desperstedly.

The older man triumphant smirk made the blond photographer shudder in expectant excitement as Asami positioned himself at the boy's tight entrance pushing past the ring of muscle. Finally having broken the boy's resolve to stay quiet, Asami took the ring off Akihito and penetrated him in one smooth motion. He trusted hard into the moaning mess his young lover had become, taking care to hit that sweet bundle of nerves each time.

"Oh, God… yes! Harder." Cried the blond looking straight into golden eyes. Asami kissed his lips again and trailed down his jaw until he reached the crease of Akihito's neck sucking and biting, marking his property for all the world to see.

Five thrusts later Akihito was covered in his own release as he exploded all over his ownand Asami's stomach. Asami kept thrusting until he found his own release inse the boy's tight rectum.

Akihito laid sprawled on the bed while Asami was in the shower. He would have to tell the older man the truth soon, or as much as the truth he knows, which wasn't that much to begging with. He had to mentelly prepare himself to a very uncomfortable conversation.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Well everyone, what do you think? I hope you like the story so far. Reviews, comments, questions…etc are all welcomed.

I hope to post next chapter by Saturday night or Sunday at the latest.

Setsuna


	3. Chapter 3 - What Akihito Knows

**AN: Hello everyone! Thank you so much for the reviews and for following my story. Big revelations are in the horizon people and some dark stuff too. I hope that you enjoy this chapter, I worked so hard on it and had to keep pausing and re-reading about a million times because my 9 months old baby is on that stage where babies are super clingy and want to be held all the time… which really doesn't help when you want to use your hands to type stuff on the computer. Anyway, I am already working on Chapter four – big stuff coming I tell you – and will post it as soon as possible. **

**As always do note that I do not own VF as much as I wish I did. Please enjoy the story and let me know what you think.**

**Chapter 3 - What Akihito Knows**

The morning sun was already shining through the window when Asami came out of the shower. The older man sat on a chair to the side with a glass of amber liquid in his hand waiting for his lover to begin talking. Akihito gave a audible sigh and seeing no way out of the situation he sat uncomfortably on the bed facing the yakuza and began to recount the events leading up to his encounter with his thought to be dead friend.

"I can only tell you what I know. It all started eleven years ago…" he said.

FLASHBACK - Eleven years ago

The day of their birthday (Akihito's and Mina's) Mina and the guys were going to meet to go celebrate at a karaoke. The guys were already at his house waiting for the girls so they could all leave together. Mina's friend, Hanna, would wait at mina's house because she did not know where Akihito lived.

Mina was very into sports and martial arts - she was a tomboy through and through, which was one of the reasons she got along so well with Akihito, Kou and Takato but had very few girl friends – they had agreed that Hanna would have to wait for mina to get back from her activities at the judo club she attended before they left to meet with Akihito and the boys at Akihito's home.

Hanna looked a lot like Mina and must have been in the bedroom listening to music with headphones in her ears when the men broke in. They must have thought they had the right girl and even if Hanna had gotten a chance to correct them, they would have killed her anyway.

When an hour had passed and the girls did not come, Takato and Kou had insisted they wanted to go to the Karaoke they had selected and wait for the girls there. After ten minutes of endless pleading from the two, Akihito reluctantly agreed. Two hours later they were all looking at their clocks every three seconds and giving each other worried gazes and pacing around the room they had rented at the Karaoke place – all thoughts of partying had flown out the window sometime during the first hour. They had called both girls' phones multiple times with no answers and left numerous messages. They left shortly after, still worried about their friends but not knowing what to do. Akihito went back to his house and walked into his room throwing himself on top of his bed with a heavy sigh and a heavy heart.

He was looking at the sealing and thinking about what he could do when a noise from his closet started him. Curious, he went to check his closet and upon opening the door he gasped in surprise. There, on the far corner, curled up on fetal position trembling with fear, was Mina. The death of his friend and her parents was all over the news the next day; 'accidental fire' they said, he knew instantly that someone with money had paid to have the evidence – what little remained that is – disregarded and a cover story transmitted to the masses.

This situation and his desire to present people the truth of things was what initially drove him to take up criminal photography, he wanted people to know the true face of the rich and powerful. Mina did not speak for days and came out only when the house was empty or Akihito could play lookout for her. He brought her meals and did not mention her to his friends.

One day she was finally out of her zombie like state and told Akihito what happened the day she supposedly died, Mina told him everything including her poor mother's fate as she broke down and cried on his shoulders. Mina's parents and Hanna had been murdered, he didn't know why or by whom, only Mina knew and she had not been willing to drag him into that mess.

She hid in his closet for a whole week before his parents found out. His father as it tends to be, knew someone who knew someone who could get her fake passport and other papers that to help her get out of the country. She remembered her aunt's address in Italy because they used to write to each other before her aunt stopped contacting them, Valentina had a different last name from her mother since they were not related by blood and she did not visit often, so not many people knew about her.

They decided to send her to Italy arranging for a car to pick her up upon arrival and taking her to the address. If she could not find her aunt she needed to call them and they would arrange for other accommodations. Before she boarded the plane Akihito and Mina said goodbye to each other promising that if she was ever free to come back they would meet at a certain park by a three they used to sit under when they were children.

Akihito would keep the same phone number and one day she would text him to meet her. They would meet half an hour after receiving the text, she would wait for him and if he could not make it within the time frame, she would leave and come back at the same time the following month. In case anything happened Akihito's parents rented a small crummy apartment in a hard to get to part of the city.

If they needed to pull her out of Italy they would arrange for her to hide there, but after some time they lost contact with her and eventually stopped paying the rent. Akihito got a part-time job and secretly rented the apartment under a fake name. He kept making payments for all this years, going back to check on the place once every two months.

He thought she was dead, that the men who killed her family had found her and killed her too, but he needed to hope that she would come back one day - and if he had to pay for a run down mold-infested apartment for the rest of his life to keep deluding himself with false hope, he would do it because that is what a friend does; friends keep hope alive when everyone has given up.

END OF FLASHBACK

***VF***

**Mina's POV**

Hanna was very familiar with mina's house and got along well his her parents so it was no unusual for her to wait in mina's room playing videogames or listening to music while reading magazines lying on mina's bed.

She took a detour to buy Akihito's present and got home 15 minutes later than what she had agreed with Hanna. Turing around a corner she saw an unfamiliar man in dark blue suit get into a black car a block away from her house but did not think much about it. When she arrived home something felt out of place. A sudden chill of foreboding ran down her spine as she took in the slightly open door and the broken window to the side.

She thought that her parents were probably gone and maybe a thief had broken in and had already left but wanting to be careful she climbed the tree outside to reach her bedroom window on the second floor of the house. Adrenaline pumped through her system as she thought of beating up the thief if he was still around.

Upon entering her room she noticed something her one track mind had blocked off, the strong smell of smoke came from her parent's closed door and panic took a hold of her

Hanna, was part of the track team and had an athletic build similar to mina's as well as similar hair style if only a little lighter in color and shorter in length.

That fifteen minute detour had saved her live and condemned her friend to the fate that was meant for her. She watched them burn, the raging fire in the room making her unable to get to them. Her father and Hanna were already dead, she knew because despite the flames liking at their skin; they made no sounds or movements, her mother however whimpered lowly as she suffered in her last moments. Mina ran to her father's study on the first floor and found the gun he hid behind some books.

She ran back up the stairs and stood at the door to her parent's bedroom. Flames blazed uncontrollably singing some of her hair, her mother still whimpered in pain. She lifted the gun and pointed it toward her mother pulling the trigger. Miraculously she hit square on the woman's forehead, ending her suffering instantly by ending her life. It was the first time she saw someone die, the first time she took a life - and in her heart she knew, she would never be the same.

She collapsed sobbing before the door until she heard the sound of sirens approaching. Scared of what would happen to her if the people who did this discovered they had mistaken the girl in her room and that the one who was supposed to die was in fact alive and a threat to their secrets.

She blamed herself for Hanna's death but most of all she blamed her father for sticking his nose in someone else's business. Regardless of this, she hated those who had taken everything from her the most and swore to get revenge one day. She took a few clothes and any money she could find and went into hiding. She ran to get as far as she could, ran as if her life depended on it, and it did because she knew if the people who killed her family found out about her she would die.

**End of Mina's POV**

***VF***

"She goes by the name 'Kali' now, I don't know why. But she is here to get revenge on those who hurt her. Please Asami, don't get involved in it. She used to be a sweet girl, but she has changed over the years and in her eyes I saw that she can be quite scary."

"…" Asami remained quiet and nodded in Akihito's direction. However he had no intention of letting a potentially dangerous person get his lover into a risky situation. He needed to get some information on this girl before he made any conclusions though, but before that he needed to get Akihito out of the gloomy mood he was currently on and if there is something he knows, it is how to make his kitten forget about the world and everything in it.

He got close to the boy and looked straight into the hazel orbs while running the back of his hands down the boy's cheeks. Akihito felt himself and the room fill with Asami's presence and the smell of the man's body wash. The boy turned red at his proximity and his breathing became laborious in expectation.

Asami chuckled low at his boy's conditioned response to his body and kissed his lips pulling the lower one a little with his teeth. His mouth trailed kisses to the photographer's earlobe and in a husky, seductive voice he said.

"Did you know, my sweet Akihito, that orgasms are commonly referred to as 'the little death'? Today, let us die a thousand deaths together..." a small wanton whimper was his answer.

Asami kept Akihito's mind and body engaged for eight straight hours before the boy could no longer move or keep his eyes open. He called Kirishima and instructed the man to have the car ready in thirty minutes then took another shower.

The older man left the building and entered the limousine waiting at the front, Kirishima climbed in behind him and closed the door. They rode in silence to Sion and entered Asami's office. Kirishima gave him the usual reports and summary of activities, the secretary tied to assess the mood his boss was in but his expression was unreadable. He was getting a bad feeling about the situation his boss' brat and the unidentified girl were causing. After a short and awkward silence Asami finally spoke to his secretary, lifting his eyes from a report he had been handed.

"Kirishima"

"Sir?"

"Find out everything you can about a woman who goes by the name 'Kali,' make it a priority. I expect a full report in less than two hours."

"Yes Sir" answered Kirishima before bowing and living his boss' office closing the door behind him.

One hour forty-five minutes later Asami sat before his desk with a report in his hands.

"Are you in need of someone's death Asami-sama?" asked Kirishima. Wondering if Takaba's transgression, whatever it was, warranted the boy's termination.

"Not at the moment"

"Kali," the said out loud pondering on the information. The pun was not lost to Asami, Kali, as in the Indian goddess of murder and chaos and destruction, what an appropriate name for a high-end female assassin.

***VF***

A week later Akihito was hanging out with Kou and Takato at Takato's place, he had not been contacted yet and his nerves could barely take it anymore. Takato's wife was out of town visiting her parents so Akihito and Kou decided to keep him company. Outside, he knew, there were at least five of Asami's men watching the apartment. He had tried to lose them but this ones were apparently chosen from a totally different batch from the usual easy to lose goons.

"I was thinking," Kou started, "we don't get to hang out as much anymore, I mean… not like we used to when we were in high school. Takato has work and married life to deal with, and you Akihito are obsessed with your work and have that rich lady to keep company. I have work too but not having a special person to spend time with sure leaves a guy with extra time around." Kou had a sad expression on his face that made Akihito's heart clench painfully.

He knew why Kou did not have anyone special in his life for the longest time. Kou had liked mina, he had liked her a lot, and was planning on asking her out the day everything went to hell and she had 'died.' It broke Kou's heart knowing that he would never see her again and would never get a chance to confess his love to her. Now it was breaking Akihito's heart not to tell Kou the truth because he saw in Kou's eyes and defeated demeanor that he still held strong feelings for the girl. Keeping this secret was proving to be the hardest thing he has ever had to do.

*****VF*****

**This is it so far, do let me know what you think. I will post the next chapter soon but it all depends on how much life gets in the way of writing.**

**Setsuna**


	4. Chapter 4 - Birth of a Goddess Part I

**AN: Hello there! Sorry for disappearing on you for a while there but life gets on the way of things as do lawyers and legal stuff as well as being sick. Anyhow I must make clear here some things that Luc brought up about chapter 3; In case you did not notice t Aki's friendship with Mina is was not a light friendship no one does that kind of stuff for a light friendship and if you did not catch it things happened the day of THEIR birthday (both Aki and Mina's) that there should give you a hint that something else is going on and that they are close to each other. Another matter is how do you think anyone would be feeling after going through what she went through and doing what she did? of course she was behaving like and I quote an "orphan traumatized teenager" at the time she was in Aki's room because what she went through was a traumatizing experience that would put ANYONE into shock or screw them up majorly in their head. But do keep in mine that it has been ten years since the last time Aki heard from her an time as well as circumstances do change people so let's not try to jump the gun and get ahead of ourselves and enjoy the story, ne?**

**Anyhow... here it ****is people big revelations on Mina's past. I wanted to get this done on one chapter and go back to the main story on but sadly was not able to do so. So "Birth of a goddess" (I'm referring to Mina aka Kali, goddess of murders, destruction, chaos, etc. etc. here.) will be divided into two parts. I promise to update as soon as possible but bare with me if I am not able to. As you know I do have a life outside of writing fanfic and it tends to get in the way of things. Enjoy the story and let me know what you think.**

**Disclaimer: I own nothing.**

*****VF*****

**Chapter 4 - Birth a the goddess Part One**

Italy had not turn out the safe heaven she hoped for. Her mother' step-sister had not been in possession of all her faculties for a long time, which explained her sudden estrangement five years ago. One day she just stopped calling or engaging in any form of contact with them, they had no way of figuring out what happened to the half Italian-half Japanese woman.

It took her about thirty minutes to figure out what happened to her aunt – Marco de Vieri. A controlling, abusive man who walked around like he owned the very world he walked on. He waltzed around rather than walk and to Mina he reminded her of a peacock in the way he held himself. Until she was getting out of the taxi and introduced to the man by the front door of the beautiful house she did not even know her aunt had married. She had known her aunt was the secretary and personal assistant to an old man, he owned a growing imports and exports business. The old man was widowed and had no children, he was close to her aunt and considered almost like a daughter. Mina learned that about a year and a half ago the old man had a heart attack and passes away leaving everything to her aunt and along came the peacock with promises of undying love and happiness lasting forever. In her naivete her aunt fell for his tricks and six months later they were married, soon after he took control of her live and everything she had and forbade her to contact anyone.

The sad woman skittered like a cockroach before lights every time he appeared in the room and was unusually quiet and skittish. This woman was a stranger to her now, completely different from the funny sounding and accent-heavy bubbly young woman who used to visit every major holiday.

Almost three months later there were two 'human cockroaches' skittering in the house instead of one. The man was a demon in designer clothes and she was broken into a worthless excuse of a human being. The strong girl was no longer there; the pain and stress from the ordeal with her family, the fear of being found and killed by those men, and the constant abuse at the hands of her aunt's husband sucked all the resolve and will out of her.

Months later - she couldn't even remember how many - as she stood in front of the bathroom mirror, she realized she had lost herself. The girl who stared back at her as a total stranger - her eyes had sunken, hair dulled, her skin had yellowed from mal nutrition and she had lost weight and muscle tone - the fire in her eyes had been extinguished.

That was the moment she found her resolve and decided to escape from the peacock. She gathered some of her clothing, stole any money she could find and anything of value that was small enough to fit in her backpack. She tried to convince her aunt to leave with her but the woman was so scared and conditioned to obey that she hid in a small room instead.

She leaned on the door and pleaded for the battered woman to come with her before Marco came back from his lover, but the woman would not come out of hiding. Looking at the clock on the wall she judged she only had ten minutes to get out of the house so regrettably she stepped away from the door.

"I will come for you one day, just hold on aunt Valentina. You have to hold on and wait for me to be stronger. I promise I will come back for you." After saying this she left the peacock's hellhole and did not look back until she thought it was safe.

She left Italy and her abusive 'uncle' going toward Germany just because she knew the language somewhat and wanted to be as far as possible from Marco. She made it to Germany with a combination of sheer luck, stealing, and hiding in other people's vehicles.

Losing her will and becoming an empty shell of her old self, a empty husk was not an option. She would survive this cruel world no matter what it took, she would become stronger and no one would treat her like an object again. She joined a group of street urchins in Germany and survived by pick-pocketing and other methods of thievery but not all days were successful days. Sometimes she did not acquire enough money to eat every day, at this times she found herself scavenging for anything eatable in the back alleys behind restaurants.

She was starving, on the dirty alley behind a fancy restaurant, looking for food. There was a private party in the restaurant which promised more food than usual will be left over, all she had to do was find something to munch on while she waited for the festivities to be over and the 'banquet' it would ensue. Mina was hiding from the important person having a private dinner which had come out to hand a briefcase to a strange man and stayed out to quickly smoke a cigarette. Quiet as a mouse, still as stone. She watched the man go about his business and hoped he would leave soon so she could continue to look for something eatable among the trash.

The important looking man walked forward to toss an empty cigarette box in a trash can. Suddenly a man dressed completely in black silently entered the alley and crept behind the rich man. He came out of nowhere, as if materializing from the shadows in the dirty alley. The man in black was silent as death itself and death is what he brought with him.

The silver of his knife was beautiful and captivating, it seem to shine with life under the full moon but paled in comparison to the silver in the killer's eyes. She had never seen eyes like that before, and there was a strength in them that called to the deepest parts of her soul and made her crave that strength. She was a silent spectator to a macabre play as the man in black held is victim's mouth shut using his left hand to keep the rich man from screaming and alerting those inside the restaurant.

His right hand held the knife to the rich man's throat and sliced true and quick. The cut was so perfect it reminded her of a hot knife cutting through butter and crimson blood oozed from the rich man's neck like a river that would never run dry. The man in black let the limp body fall to the ground with a heavy thud and smiled curiously in her direction.

"You know…" he said, "It is not nice to spy on others."

She remained quiet in her hiding spot wondering how the man had known she was there. A slight feeling of fear mixed with anticipation took hold of her.

"I know you are there, you might as well come out."

Tentatively she came out of her temporary sanctuary, still holding a piece of molding bread on one of her hands.

"A girl? How come you did not scream?" he asked

"Is not the first time I see someone die, and I do not care about this man enough to mourn his passing." She answered in her broken German.

The answer startled him and the corner of his mouth twitched slightly, that was not an answer he expected. He took in her appearance; tangled mass of hair, threads that could never pass as clothing under any circumstances, only one shoe which had holes on it… generally dirty. A stray he concluded, a foreigner - probably escaped from a whorehouse. He dismissed her immediately as no one of consequence and not worth his time of the effort to kill her, she will die of starvation or sickness soon enough.

"You better get out of here and forget what you saw girl. It would simply not do if you start talking to people about this, and it would be a waste of the gift I've given you by letting you keep your life." The man in black turned to walk out of the alley.

"Wait," she said running to stand before him. "Take me with you." She could not let this opportunity escape, this man had exactly what she needed.

"I have no use for you, why would I take you with me."

"Teach me." She pleaded.

"Tell me girl, what is it exactly that you want me to teach you?"

"Teach me how to kill."

"Oh, this is certainly something I don't hear every day. Why would you want to learn such a thing?"

"For survival, for revenge."

"What is your name?"

"Mina, Sayako Mina."

"I must say you are one interesting girl Mina. Follow me; we can't stay here much longer."

***VF***

She never spoke to the assassin about her temporary residence in other parts of Europe before they met and he never asked. What he knew about her affairs in Japan he had learned on drunken nights when the young woman had become chatty under the influence of alcohol and pent-up anger. Living with Lukas and being under his tutelage made her stronger that she had ever been, she could finally make them all pay.

Her first mark was an up and coming Italian political figure and as luck would have it she knew the man quite well, Marco de Vieri. Oh, how she would enjoy snuffing out his life like a candle in the night, finally she could fulfill her promise to her aunt and save her from the clutches of the diabolical peacock… that is… if the woman was still alive after six years.

She had been watching her mark for almost two weeks now. Learning all his movements and becoming familiar with his day to day life. The man was rotten to the core and involved in all kinds of shady activities. Every three days he would come back to her aunt's house on the outsides of Naples and prepare the place to receive visitors the following day. There was a woman that always stayed in the house and sometimes he would bring more.

What they did to those women during their 'parties' was absolutely disgusting to say the least. Screaming and begging could be heard coming out of the country house for hours. She wanted to go in and kill them all but her instructions were specific, she had to kill her mark and only her mark without putting herself in evidence. It wouldn't have surprised her the least if one of the peacock's so called friends turned out to be her employer, the man was generally an ass to everyone around him.

She decided the best chance to kill the man would be the day before one of the 'parties'. To her knowledge there would only be him and the woman in the house. She could incapacitate the woman when she wasn't looking, kill the self important peacock and let the unfortunate soul remaining in the house take the fall for her.

Forty five minutes before he was scheduled to arrive, she snuck into the house through an open window on the first floor. Slowly she went up the stairs toward the bedrooms looking for the woman. The rattle of chains called to her attention and quietly she directed her steps to the general vicinity of the noise. To her surprise it was coming from her old room. She pushed the door slightly and took in a sharp breath as she witnessed the woman chained to the floor in the center of the room much like she had been several times all those years ago. The woman was dirty and covered in blue, green, and purple bruises. Many small cuts could be spotted on her face and the rest of her body as well as patches of dried blood. '_Savages,'_ she thought _'only a savage could do this to a woman.'_

Without thinking she walked in and began asking questions to the woman as she picked the heavy locks.

"Who are you? Why are you here?" The woman was confused for a minute but began talking as soon as she realized she was being freed.

"My name is Franchesca, I used to be Marco's lover, there was someone else before me but she disappeared one day and no one ever heard from her again. Everyone thought she had left for a new lover, so I saw it as my chance and became his new lover. Everything was great in the beginning but then he brought me to this place, that was three years ago and I have been here ever since. I think the lover before me took her life and that is why he brought me here."

"Is Valentina still here, is she still alive?"

"Valentina? The half Japanese! Yes, yes, she is still alive! He keeps her chained in the kitchen. He can't sell her to his friends anymore, a month ago they said she was too far gone and there is no fight left in her so he keeps her there to cook for him and his friends when they come. I do not know how she survived this long; I heard she was his wife how could he do that to his wife?"

"Do you think she has the strength to leave if I free her?"

"I don't know. I think she is crazy, I asked her one why she held on, she told me she heard a voice once telling her to. The voice told her it would come back and get her out of here. I think she has gone mad."

"Let's go, we don't have much time before he is back."

She dropped the lock to the woman's restraints and headed to the kitchen, Franchesca following closely. Mina found Valentina sitting on a corner in the kitchen, a faraway look on her eyes. She looked almost as bad as Franchesca but some of her bruises were older and there was a cut on her once luscious lips.

"Valentina," she called holding the woman's chin to make the woman look at her. "Valentina, it's me, Mina. I came back for you, just like I promised. You did great Valentina, you survived all this years and now I am strong enough to free you and take you with me to a place where no one will ever hurt you again."

There was no response from the woman and Mina continued to hold her close as she frantically called her name and reassured her. Awareness slowly came back to Valentina's eyes as she hears the voice and understood the implications of Mina's voice and words. She freed her aunt from her restraints and led her out of the kitchen. The two broken and scared women hid in the pantry on Mina's orders. The young woman placed herself in a strategic location near the front door to incapacitate Marco as soon as he was inside the house.

Marco arrived shortly and entered the house.

***VF***

**Well, this is it for now. More revelations about Mina to come. Next part is… dark/cruel… at some points, but I hope we are all mature enough to handle them. Please review, comment, and give constructive criticism. Thank you for following and favoring the story and for being so supportive. After the next part the story will be going back to the main story-line with maybe some flashbacks here and there but nothing as extensive as this is in the immediate future.**

**Setsuna**


	5. Chapter 5 - Birth of a Goddess Part II

**AN: Chapter five yay! Sorry about the long absence... I will not keep you long with my rambling all I will say is blame a History Channel documentary on Medieval torture devices... the next chapter will go back to the main story – hopefully – and will be posted as soon as possible. Please leave me any comments you have. Enjoy.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Viewfinder.**

*****VF*****

**Chapter five – Birth of a goddess part two**

Marco arrived shortly and entered the house. There were no new women with him, which made things easier for Mina. As soon as he was away from the door the girl came up behind him and pressed a wet piece of cloth over his nose and mouth while holding him tightly to prevent his escape. Marco fell limply on the wooden floor and Mina called the women to help her move him to her old room.

She chained Marco to the floor in the same way he had once done to her and did to the other two. The girl told the women to wait downstairs for her to be done and they left her with the sleeping man. When Marco woke up, he realized he was chained to the floor. Confusion passed through his face before being replaced with anger. He pulled on the chains trying to free himself not noticing the figure sitting silently by the door watching him with amusement.

"You know pulling on it won't work right? After all you made sure to get very strong chains." She said with a sadistic chuckle.

"Who the fuck are you?! What do you want?" Marco was screaming questions at her, rage evident in his voice.

"You offend me 'uncle'…" she answered sarcastically. "…and after I have come from so far away bearing gifts and everything. I was expecting a warmer welcome on your part, you know, after all you had not seen me for six years and I recall you enjoyed 'playing' with me quite a bit. The fake innocence in her voice as she spoke could have fooled anyone who at the moment was not chained naked to the floor by their wrist, but Marco suspected these 'gifts' would not be something he would particularly enjoy.

The man pleaded, screamed, begged and the girl did not falter in her ministrations. There was so much blood on the wooden floor that every step she took was accompanied by a sickening squishy sound. She was a master when it came to knives and she put all she had learned over the years as well as numerous things she picked up during trips to different parts of the world to the test on her uncle's body. Mina kept the man alive and awake for hours but was beginning to grow bored with his reactions.

She took the last mechanism out of her black backpack and showed it to him as she explained its usage.

"Look 'uncle', I bought this specially for you a few years back. It's called a Pear of Anguish, and it is a fun little thing. I bet you will love it, I certainly will." She held the pear shaped object in front of the naked and sobbing man's face. It was made up of four metal leaves joined by a hinge at the top and had a key or crank at one end.

"I heard it was a common torture device during medieval times and mainly used on heretics, witches, and homosexuals. I know… I know… you are not any of those things, but I still feel that there is no punishment more suitable to your acts than this. It is supposed to cause massive internal damage so it might be a little uncomfortable for you. Now, you must bear with me though, because it's my first time using it… ok?" she said with a sweet as honey smile on her face.

She pushed the man to the floor with a kick and used her feet to separate his legs. Mina pulled his rear up and pressed his head to the floor by stepping on it. She pushed the metal pear into the man slowly as he screamed in horror and pain, then proceeded to turn the key opening the four metal leaves inside him. Blood oozed from the man as a silent scream came out of his lips. She let him suffer for a couple more minutes before pulling out a gun and ending his misery.

***VF***

_Five years later_

Karmina Rosenthal, the assassin known as 'Kali', stood before the door to her office about to turn the doorknob. The words 'Principal Rosenthal' written in bold golden letters on the fogged glass panel of the door. She heard someone call her name and turned toward the voice.

"Miss Rosenthal!" a boy about seventeen year old yelled down the hallway of the private academy as he ran in her direction.

"Yes Andrew?"

"I'm sorry to bother you when you have just come back from a job. About our sparing partners, I wanted to ask if I can have someone on a level above me. I feel that I am currently under challenged and strongly believe I can handle a stronger opponent. Also I would like to test out of rope use II, knife handling III and home economics."

"Schedule an appointment with your student adviser. Dimitri will see if you are ready for the next level of your studies. Now if you excuse me, I have a meeting."

"Thanks Principal, have a good day." Said the boy walking away.

'_Ah, what a promising young man. He will be a great killer one day.'_ She thought and wondered briefly about the skewed sense of morality that came with killing others for a living before putting the thought aside.

She entered her office and sat behind her desk. A large screen lighted up on the wall opposite to her and a face began to appear.

"Good afternoon Mina," said Lukas. "How was your assignment?"

She wondered briefly why he even bothered changing her name and giving her a fake identity if he was going to continue to call her by her real name. Mina was a name she no longer associated with herself, it was not who she was anymore, but she supposed old habits die hard and the man looking at her was now as old as his habits so with a sigh she put away any hope that he would change.

"Good afternoon father, it went well, thank you. So easy I could have sent one of the students."

"Oh I know, there is barely any challenge this days, but the job had to be done perfectly." He said.

"I understand the need to have a expert deal with delicate things."

"Now, about your sabbatical. When are you leaving?"

"I will be heading to Japan next week; Pablo, Xing, and Basheera will be in charge on my instead. I think its time for senior staff to begin pulling their weight around here. Please give them your guidance."

"Who will be approving new contracts? Do you want me to take care of that for you?"

"No, there is no need to trouble you with that. I will be receiving an encrypted message regarding requests for new contracts and will approve them myself."

"Was there anything else you wanted to discuss with me?" Lukas asked from the screen.

"No, I believe I you should be receiving a detailed report on all activities as of this week and future plans to be followed. I have set all affairs in order should I fail."

"Of course you won't fail, you are the best!"

"One must always prepare for the worst possible outcome none the less." She answered nonchalantly.

Lukas cleared his throat and wished her good luck before ending their meeting.

"If that is all I must get back to my affairs as well. I will come over to see you off next week."

***VF***

Lukas took a liking to the girl, the life of an assassin is not conducive to acquiring a family and living in any kind of normalcy. He wanted someone to call his own, someone to teach his skills to, so that when the day of his death came at least he would leave behind some sort of legacy. He adopted the girl and taught her his skills, she was strong and a fire burnt in her that filled him with pride.

She learned quickly, her desire for revenge driving her forward and fueling her resolve. Soon he found himself taking her all over the world, introducing her to the deadliest most skillful people he knew so they could train her. She quickly became a sort of daughter to them all and under their tutelage she became the perfect assassin.

He, who had no one to leave his legacy to have finally found a worthy heir. She was smart too, he hired tutors for different subjects and her dedication to all her studies whether they were about killing or school was never questioned. The girl spent every waking hour practicing and perfecting herself. Who would have thought at first glance that the girl covered in dirt in that alley all those years ago was a diamond just waiting to be polished.

He remembered her first official assignment, a wealthy Italian politician. He still laughs when he recalls her arriving with two frighten and disheveled women. To say he had no idea how to react was a blatant understatement.

"I did not know you had a tendency to pick up strays." He had said.

"About as much of a tendency as you have." She answered, reminding him that she was once a stray too.

"This is my aunt, Valentina, and this my uncle's lover, Franchesca." She added. "I could not leave them at the scene of a murder, could I?"

"The scene of a murder! What have you done? Have you killed someone other than your mark?"

"I did my job father. I killed my mark and only my mark. Is not my fault that said mark happened to have affairs to settle with me."

Suddenly he understood, her mark had been her uncle. That explained her eagerness to take on the assignment after looking at the description page for only a fraction of a second. It also explained why she felt she needed to bring this women along.

"Well, I suppose they can stay. But you are responsible for them and I don't want them getting into my affairs or hindering our 'business'."

"Thank you father." She said before herding the women into the house.

Mina took on many assignments after that from different clients and to different parts of the world. She would have just come back from a job and soon was walking out the door to another, it was like there was a thirst within her that she could not satiate an ire that needed to be let out somehow. From time to time she began bring a child with her and house the new comer in the mansion. He had no idea what she was thinking but he found he did not now how to feel about having children around.

"I see you keep picking up strays." He said to her one day.

"I'm recruiting." She said walking away with the newcomer.

As it turned out the women were useful. It took time but the women began to feel safe again and bloomed like flowers after a long winter. Franchesca took charge of keeping the servants in line, she had a no-nonsense attitude that made everyone into an efficient worker and Valentina took care of the children's health and wellbeing. Being around children brought a kind of light to Valentina's eyes that he felt attracted to and eventually they began a relationship.

Soon after, Mina bought an old hospital in the outsides of the city, remodeled, expanded, and turned it into a private school. To the public it was a school to help troubled children, in reality it was a school for assassins, and a way to launder money earned through the death of others. She trained the older ones in between assignments and in turn they trained the younger ones until they had established teacher/student system.

'Hope Institute of Learning' she named it, to him the name was just amusing, whoever said assassins have no sense of humor had clearly never met Mina. Yet again, not many people met Mina and lived to talk about it.

When the students were ready to become active assassins they were sent to different parts of the world to complete assignments and paid one fourth of their fee in dues to the academy for their first five year of active duty and did most of the recruiting, ensuring that the school always had money to run on and students to teach – assassination was a very lucrative business so the school would function for years even if the graduates did not pay their dues but paying dues and recruiting gave them a sense of belonging to a solid organization or a kind of family regardless of where in the world they were. He had to admire Mina's way of turning such a large group of killers into a community.

her plan was simply ingenious; take them out of the streets and give then food, shelter, education, a new identity and the skills to take anyone out of their way. She provided those children with a place to call home and someone to look up to and in return they gave her absolute loyalty and devotion. She placed them all over the world and in many different organizations. Be it governments, banks, companies, hotel chains, underworld groups - chances where there may be an intern, head of security, assistant, secretary, bodyguard, manager or someone preview to sensitive information who was working for her. She had quietly infiltrated the business of many powerful people. After all you never know when those powerful people would become a mark, an employer or an enemy and having information available upon request was an advantage she enjoyed.

He never thought about having children or a family, but looking at his adoptive daughter board the plane to bring hell down upon her enemies, he could not help but be proud.

*****VF*****

**This is it for now, I hope you enjoyed the ride ^_^/ let me know how you feel about the story so far.**

**Also... Funny story (ish) I started working on this over Easter Weekend at my in-laws' place and my sister in law was visiting her parents as well. I left my computer on to change my baby and my sister in law asked if she could use it to check her email. When I came back to the laptop my sister in law is reading my Microsoft Word document which contained this. I got red as a tomato and had no idea how to explain this to her so my mouth just hung open and started doing fish-like movements as I tried to come up with something to say. so she looks at me and says "you are a sick sick person..." looks back at the document then at me and says "can you email me this when you finish it so I can read the whole story? its pretty good" Needless to say all I could answer - with a very red face and looking away from her - was "Sure, I guess"**

**Setsuna**


	6. Chapter 6 - To Ask a Favor

**AN: This took me a long time to put together, somehow this chapter was really difficult to write and people kept interrupting me. Sorry about taking so long and thank you for following the story and for your lovely reviews, they really give me the encouragement I need to keep the story going. On another note, I am working on a Mother's Day story and wanted to post it before Mother's Day to mark the occasion –it being my first Mother's Day as a mother and such- but I just got so sidetracked with other projects. I hope to be posting it sometime soon and hope that you would – please- give it a read and let me know how you feel about it. Anyway, I guess all I have to say now is; I do not own Finder Series and my fics are all selfbetaed so forgive this humble writer's mistakes. That being said, on with the story… enjoy and review.**

*****VF*****

**Chapter six – To Ask a Favor**

_"I was thinking," Kou started, "we don't get to hang out as much anymore, I mean… not like we used to when we were in high school. Takato has work and married life to deal with, and you Akihito are obsessed with your work and have that rich lady to keep company. I have work too but not having a special person to spend time with sure leaves a guy with extra time around." Kou had a sad expression on his face that made Akihito's heart clench painfully._

_He knew why Kou did not have anyone special in his life for the longest time. Kou had liked mina, he had liked her a lot, and was planning on asking her out the day everything went to hell and she had 'died.' It broke Kou's heart knowing that he would never see her again and would never get a chance to confess his love to her. Now it was breaking Akihito's heart not to tell Kou the truth because he saw in Kou's eyes and defeated demeanor that he still held strong feelings for the girl. Keeping this secret was proving to be the hardest thing he has ever had to do._

******VF******

He knew why Kou did not have anyone special in his life for the longest time. Kou had liked mina, he had liked her a lot, and was planning on asking her out the day everything went to hell and she had 'died.' It broke Kou's heart knowing that he would never see her again and would never get a chance to confess his love to her.

Now it was breaking Akihito's heart not to tell Kou the truth because he saw in Kou's eyes and defeated demeanor that he still held strong feelings for the girl. Keeping this secret was proving to be the hardest thing he has ever had to do. He had been keeping many things from his friends already and this situation was adding extra weight to his already heavy soul.

This situation sucked; there was just no other way to describe his feelings about how things turned out. Sitting in front of his friends pretending everything was well, smiling and being reminded of Kou's feelings simply sucked. Mina being back opened a can of warms he had hoped he never had to deal with. How can you tell your best friend that the girl he has been hung up on for the longest time and you were dating? - Well, sort of dating, he doesn't even know what that whole thing was to begin with.

Their mother's became friends at the hospital when they were born, they went to the same schools and hung out with the same people (namely Kou and Takato) and had many interests in common. He had been really close to her, it did not come as a surprise when one day they started holding hands but when three weeks later she kissed him on the lips he had no idea what to do. It was the lightest of kisses, definitely not the kind of kisses you share with a girlfriend. Akihito wasn't sure if he felt that way about her so he didn't tell anyone about it. He figured he would tell the guys when he sorted out his feelings.

Then Kou told him about his feelings for Mina and how he wanted to ask her out at the day of their birthday and his heart sunk all the way to his stomach. He felt like the biggest of traitors, a betrayer, someone who had taken something that did not belong to him and that is when his feelings became clear, he loved Mina – just not that way. _'Thinking about it now, I never felt for Mina anywhere remotely close to how I feel for… never mind that, why am I thinking about the bastard to begin with?'_

Akihito looked at his watch and saw it was time to go back home. He said goodbye to his friend and left the apartment, as he walked down the street he could see five strong bodies following his every move. The young man sighed in annoyance at Asami's over-protectiveness and decided to lose them. It took them about forty five minutes of running and jumping through alleys to lose the first four and the last one took him almost twenty minutes more but he managed to lose them all. He was at a convenience store buying some pocky to take home when his phone went off.

It was an unlisted number.

"Moshi moshi?"

"It's me, meet me at the safe house."

"Sure will be there in an hour."

The caller hung up and Akihito put the phone away. He walked out of the convenience store heading to the train station. At an alley on the other side of the street a man pulled out his phone and called his boss.

"Asami-sama, he received a phone call and left the convenience store. He is headed to the train station now. What are your orders?"

Asami's eyes narrowed in contemplation, it had been a good idea to send a sixth man and keep him at a distance. He knew sooner or later Akihito would meet with that woman and he would not let his lover alone and unprotected with an assassin.

"Follow him and report to me when he arrives safely at home. If there is anything out of the ordinary contact me again. Make sure you are not found out, he can be very sharp."

*****VF*****

After catching up with each other's lives and both sides living many very key details of their lives out they were sitting in the small living room of the rundown apartment. There was a file on the small table between them and the silence was thick until the young woman began to talk.

"Aki, I need your help."

"I told you before I would do anything in my power to help you and my offer still stands. Tell me what you need."

"This man, Tsumebara Yukuta, he is the current president of Shirou investments and the one who had my family killed. My father, the stupid fool, coincidentally came across his embezzlement, drug trade, and money laundering using the company and his plans to con Shirou Kaname, the previous president, into naming him his successor. My father threatened to expose what he found to the police is Tsumebara did not resign his post and leave Tokyo, obviously Tsumebara decided to remove the treat. My dad had given me a drive with the proof he had collected and I was wearing it on a chain around my neck. Because they could not find the drive at home and my dad would not reveal where he had hidden it, Tsumebara burned down the house with my family in it. I carried the damn thing with me for a long time. It had all the information I needed to keep track of Tsumebara and his associates; bank account numbers, contacts, drug routs and much more. This drive gave me any name I needed to exact my revenge, but I still need more. I want to truly crash this man and make him feel hopeless as he loses everything he built over the years and all his allies dead, I want him to see his power crumble before his eyes before I come to him, and that is where you come in. My mole in his has informed me there is a meeting tomorrow between Tsumebara and an important man in the weapons trade. Tsumebara wants to expand and enter the weapons business to do that he has to play nice with this man, I have not been able to find out who this man is but I have the time and place of the meeting. I need you to do what you do best, take pictures of the deal, find out who the man is and all the information you can about his business and personal life, I will do the rest."

"If you have all this proof why not just send it to the police?"

"Don't be naïve Akihito, men like Tsumebara and is friends have the police in his pockets anything you present will not make the light of day. Tsumebara deserves suffering like never seen before for what he did and I am here to deliver it. If you can't do this for me then this is your chance to back out and walk away like it never happened but know this Akihito, Tsumebara and all those associated with him will be dead when I'm done or I will not be satisfied.

"I do not think this is the right way to do things Mina but I will find the information for you."

Something had given Akihito a nagging feeling of dread at the mention of weapons trade and he had to confirm his suspicions. Akihito decided he will help his old friend not primarily because they had been so close but because he had a feeling a certain bastard was soon to be involved on a big mess. He would do this if it meant he could save Asami from her wrath.

*****VF*****

The next night…

Akihito had lost his tails earlier in the day and ad stayed hidden the rest of the time until his stake out just to be sure he did not have anyone following him he had gotten severely 'punished' the night before because he had not lost all the men following him and his lower back still hurt. Now he laid on the roof of a building on the warehouse district, his camera at the ready and prepared to take a picture at the perfect moment. A black car came around the corner and Tsumebara Yukuta stepped out, a few moments later a black BMW parked a few feet away from him. _'Calm down, no need to worry these powerful people all like that type of car. It's not him, it can't be him, and life just can't be that much of a bitch.'_

The door to the BMW opened and Akihito looked through the viewfinder at all too familiar golden eyes. _'Fuck!'_

********VF*******

**I apologize for the short chapter, it honestly was a difficult one for me to write and I hardly ever had time to sit down and work on it. Hopefully the next chapter will be longer, sooner and better. Do review and leave any comments you have about it, your constructive criticism makes my writing better and your encouragement gives me the boost to keep the story going. Thank you to those who follow, favorite, and review this and any of my other fics. If you have not read any of my other stuff I encourage you to do so.**

**Setsuna**


	7. Chapter 7 – Life's Sick Joke

**AN: Hello there to all you who have been waiting for me to update this fic, I want to say I am sorry to keep you waiting for so long. I have fallen in love with another of my fics and have been thinking about it constantly and kind of neglected this one in doing so. I already started chapter 8 and provided I can get my shit together I will be posting it soon. Thank you for the comments, faves, follows, etc. please continue to support me with your lively reviews and pointers. While you wait for the manga to be updated and other fics to be posted I encouraged you to check my other stuff, Lord knows I have already gone through 96% of the Finder Series fics in and about 80% of the ones in AO3. If there is a particularly interesting/entertaining fic out there please feel free to suggest it to me so I can read it because I'm running out of stuff to read. Pardon the grammar and spelling mistakes, all my work is self betaed.**

**I do not own Finder Series**

**On with the story**

********VF*******

**Chapter Seven – Life's Sick Joke**

This had to be a sick joke, it had to be, there is no way life could be so cruel… Then again in his life, when have things actually gone the way he hoped? Still there he was, Asami, most likely closing a deal with a man marked for death. As much as he hated to admit it even to himself, he cared for the arrogant bastard and after coming to terms with the screwed up 'relationship' they had there was no way he would let the man die, not when he could do something about it.

How ridiculous is it that every time shit happens in Tokyo Asami has to be involved somehow? Though now he thinks about it he is no better and has caused plethora of conundrums himself, but still it did not change the fact that now he had to figure out a way to prevent a good friend and his lov –ehem- Asami from killing each other.

He needed to stall the deal somehow without betraying either of them, nevertheless and as much as it pained him to admit it, if in the end it came to it he would side with Asami. Is not that he did not care for Mina, is just that his feelings for Asami went deeper that what he could ever feel for her. He would try to save them both from killing each other but in the end his loyalty does not ultimately lay with her.

It was one of those moments in which you know you have to do something and whatever you could do had to be done fast but to tell the truth at this moment his panicking mind was drawing up a blank. How to stall? How to prevent Asami from entering a game to dangerous even for him? If he asked him to, would Asami drop the seal? If he asked would Asami trust him enough to buy him some time?

From what Akihito could gather Tsumebara Yukuta must want Asami's connections in the weapons trade and his permission to operate within his territory, but what was Asami getting from this deal? Maybe he wanted to use the import/export branch of Shirou investments to smuggle his 'goods'? Did Asami really need this man so much that he would go forward with the deal even if Akihito asked him not to do it? He hoped and prayed to every deity in heaven that Asami trusted him enough to back off even if he couldn't tell him why, he really did not want to betray Mina's trust unless it was absolutely necessary.

'_Think Aki think, there has to be something you can do to stall this deal, but what?'_

A briefcase made its appearance on Tsumebara's hands and the man pulled out some documents. Akihito took some pictures from an angle in which Asami's face was shaded by the darkness of the night.

Kirishima stepped forward and took the documents from Tsumebara and examined them over before handing them to his boss. The man was always cautious and Asami going down because of a substance being placed on the paper was something that he would never let happen.

Asami was reading the documents and Akihito knew he had to do something that instant of he would have missed the chance to prevent Asami from falling into a very deep pit. A light bulb went on in his mind and the thought about the only thing he could do at the moment without revealing to Tsumebara's men that he was watching them. He only hoped Asami trusted him with his life as he trusted Asami with his.

Akihito took out his phone and sent a text to the older man followed by a text to both Suoh and Kirishima just to be on the safe side. If Asami did not look at his phone because he thought whatever the message was could wait, at least he knew that Kirishima and Suoh will always look at their phone so they could relate information to Asami as soon as necessary.

**To: Asami**

**If you trust me as much as I trust you, please do not make that deal.**

**To: Suoh; Kirishima**

**No matter what, for the sake of his life do not let this deal happen.**

***VF***

Three phones vibrated at almost the same time and Asami almost dismissed it. He glanced quickly at his secretary and went back to read the documents in his hands. Kirishima pulled his phone out of his pocked and glanced at the screen, it was a text from Takaba, normally the brat did not text him unless it was something important and whatever it was he had a bad feeling about it. He opened the message and a frown appeared on his frown.

**From: Takaba Akihito**

**No matter what, for the sake of his life do not let this deal happen.**

The secretary looked quickly at Suoh who also had his phone out and was checking a message. From the look on the man's face Kirishima could guess he had received the same message. He could only assume the kid knew something they didn't; after all finding information was his thing and if whatever information Takaba had made him think Asami-sama was at risk if he made the deal right now with Tsumebara, then it would be best to be safe and postpone a decision until he could investigate matters further.

Kirishima walked to Asami and handed him the phone so his boss could look at the message, he handed the phone back to his secretary and pulled his out glancing quickly at the message in it before putting the phone away as if the message had not been of importance.

**From: Kitten**

**If you trust me as much as I trust you, please do not make that deal.**

Asami Ryuichi was not a man who had gotten as far as he had by not being careful or by trusting everyone he made acquaintances with. However when one of the few people he trusted said that his life was at risk if he took a certain course of action he tended to listen at least until he had more information on the situation at hand. Especially when that person was someone who in normal circumstances would not use the word 'please' when talking to him. since they had come to term with whatever it was that was between them and had found a way to compromise Akihito had never meddled in his business, for him to ask Asami to trust him as much as he trusted the older man something big had to be going on and Asami was not one to be caught unaware, besides this contracts would have to be re-written before he agreed to anything in them.

'He must be watching them from somewhere and crossing his fingers hoping that I trust him and back off. Just this once I will not seal a deal with such little information on why he thinks I should. But when I have him in front of he will have to tell me what is going on.'

"Tsumebara-san before I agree to anything I need to consider the deal carefully, you must understand in this line of business one must be careful and see things from all angles. I am sure you understand that."

Tsumebara grinded his teeth at the idea of having to wait for a response from Asami but he was certain he needed the man more than the man needed him. He was sure Asami had found out the couple of loopholes he buried among legal jargon in the contract and wanted to revise it further before beginning a partnership with him.

He needed Asami if he wanted to enter the weapon's trade business and if he had to give up the advantage he could gain from the loopholes to gain more power and money then he would just have to deal with it. He just had to bid his time before he was strong enough to get rid of Asami and take Tokyo for himself, the man had been on top for far too long and it was time this prosperous territory ran under new management… patience was the name of the game and he was a really good player.

"Certainly Asami-san, if you consider it necessary."

Asami gave the documents back to Kirishima who put them on a briefcase, gave a short nod to Tsumebara and walked to the door Suoh had already opened for him and slid into the car.

Suoh shut the door to the car and walked to the driver's seat while Kirishima sat on the passenger seat. Both men look at each other questioningly and after the car had been at a good distance away from Tsumebara and his men Kirishima decided to ask the question they were both thinking about.

"Asami-sama, did Takaba say his reasons for wanting you to stop the deal in the message hi sent you?"

"No, mine was as vague as yours but something about it made me feel like I needed to take his advice, moreover this contracts have to be revised and re-written, they are filled with loopholes and none of them are in my favor."

"I noticed that too, all loopholes were meant to give him advantage and power over the trade routes. I think he might be aiming for the top."

"That Tsumebara is a slippery snake and might be thinking that taking advantage of me is a plausible thing. Investigate him and his business to more detail, I want a thorough check, there is something more fishy than usual in this situation and I need to know what. If this deal does go through I want him dead as soon as I get what I need."

"Understood, what about Takaba?"

"I will deal with that tonight, if he knows something I need to know there are fun ways I can get the information."

The glint in Asami's eyes as he said 'fun ways' was not lost on Kirishima and he promptly prevented his mind from imagining the different scenarios that could mean because when things involved Takaba and his boss there is only one kind of scenarios that came to mind and to be hones he did not want to put images to things he already knew of had heard, to tell the truth he had already seen more than he ever wanted to and he tried to keep it that way.

***VF***

Tsumebara watched the vehicle drive away and punched the closest man to him in a fit of anger kicking the man repeatedly when he fell on the ground.

'_Asami, that condescending ass, how dare him treat me like he is better than me. The man did not even noticing I had extended my hand to him and walking away after just a nod. A nod, a fucking nod! And not even at me but at my general direction. I will show that man that I am not someone to take lightly when I take everything right from under his nose.'_

When he finally calmed down he wandered briefly about the message Asami received during their meeting but when he recalled Asami's look of indifference and he looked at it and how he put the phone away like nothing important had happened he decided not to give it much thought. He had things to plan and people to buy to get information out of Sion and that was a more pressing matter. Asami could have the small victory of catching petty loopholes in a deal but ultimately the winner will be him. Patience was the name of the game and Tsumebara was a very patient man.

He walked to the vehicle waiting for him and though about his plan to take Tokyo for himself and all the ways he would make Asami suffer as it drove away into the night.

***VF***

Akihito let out a sigh he did not even know he had been holding as he witnessed the scene before him through his viewfinder. From what he could tell, and he hoped he was right, Asami had not made the deal. In the back of his mind a small voice tried to make known a fact he did not want to look at too closely – Asami will want answers and he will do anything to get them – in favor of a much welcomed revelation Asami trusted him with his life. Asami trusted him and at this moment that was all that mattered.

He watched as Asami got into the car which drove away, Tsumebara seem to be pissed at something and took it out on one of his own men. The man was crazy walking around in circles practically pulling his own hair until suddenly he stopped and laughed maniacally. Whatever the man was thinking about was definitely not a good thing. Akihito had a feeling that things just got more complicated than they already were and the feeling made him more than uneasy.

He wished he didn't have to go home, trying to let Asami know what was going on without actually telling him what is going on was going to be difficult.

'_This really has to be a very sick joke. Why did Asami have to get involved in this? Was there not one underground business in all of Tokyo that the man was not involved in? I am a fool for even hoping it was not him to begin with, but I will keep him safe even if he is a bastard… because he is my bastard.'_

No use in delaying the unavoidable he thought as he put his equipment away and left his hiding spot after Tsumebara left the meeting place. Tonight he had to brave Asami's interrogation, tomorrow he had to convince Mina that the man meeting with Tsumebara today was not important enough to bother with him.

Why did he always find himself in the middle of complicated situations? He had a feeling a shit storm was heading his way and everyone he cared about was going to end up covered in it. He only hoped he could do enough damage prevention that they all came out of it alive.

The ride home was the shortest he could ever remember, on a day in which he wished time flowed slower it felt like he arrived at the penthouse at record speed. His mind had been so preoccupied that the journey home had barely registered.

His hands were sweaty with nervousness as he opened the door and walked into the spacious penthouse, he toed his shoes off and walked into the living room where two tall figures stood at either side of Asami who casually sipped from a tumbler as he read some documents while sitting on the couch.

Golden eyes lifted from the paper and set themselves on him and he could not help but swallow rather audibly.

"Akihito, explain to me why I had to walk away from a deal. Is there something you know about Tsumebara that I should be informed about?"

Akihito looked at Kirishima and Suoh as his mouth opened but then an idea crossed his mind and he shut his mouth before the words could escape. Asami realized immediately that he did not want to speak in front of the two men and gave a short command looking at no one in particular.

"Leave" The bodyguard and secretary understood their boss' command and quietly left the penthouse. They were glad their apartments were on the floor below, that way they could come back promptly if Asami needed them.

"Well... I'm waiting."

"Asami, how long have Kirishima and Suoh been working for you?"

"Why do you need to know that?"

"I can't give you details without involving you in things I rather you stayed away from. So just trust me and tell me, in return I will tell you as much as I can."

"I will play your game for now but if I feel unsatisfied with your answers I will make you tell me everything."

"Deal"

"Very well, they have been working for me since I created Sion about fifteen years ago."

"Ok, then they can be trusted. You may have a mole in your organization, do not trust anyone who has been working for you less than ten years. No information about Sion should reach anyone other than you, Suoh and Kirishima. Do not make it seem like you know someone might be a spy either or they will attack and kill you."

Asami did not like where this conversation was going and the idea of having people spying from within Sion was something he was not comfortable with. Indeed by the end of the night Akihito will talk even if he has to use every trick on the book to make it so.

***VF***

Two men walked silently to the elevator and rode it to the lower floor. The walk to their doors was a short one, with a silent nod Kirishima invited Suoh into his apartment and the bodyguard followed him in.

"What do you think is going on?" Asked Suoh

"Whatever it is must be complicated if the brat thinks he can't talk in front of us."

"I have a bad feeling about this."

"Me too"

*****VF*****

**This is it for now; I hope I did not disappoint you with this chapter. Once again I am sorry for taking so long to update and beg for your forgiveness as I thank you for your patience. Please leave your reviews and let me know your opinion.**

**Setsuna**


	8. Chapter 8 -Let's Go To A Party

**AN: I am so sorry it has taken me so long to update my fics, I must admit I totally neglected them for a while. Truth is I was perusing s Telemundo's list of the 100 best soap operas and came across "Sin Senos No Hay Paraiso" (without boobs there is no paradise) and started watching it because I moved to USA when it had come out and never saw the ending, then when I finished that I started watching "Rosario Tijeras" and kinda got obsessed for a while with the plot (this coupled with my resent laziness is not a good thing). I am truly sorry for leaving you hanging for so long, thanks for being patient, let me know what you think of this chapter. Thanks to those who followed, review, PMed, read, faved etc this and any of my other fics. I have so many projects I am working on both on and in my daily life and they all got pushed to the side but hopefully I won't be distracted by amazingly good Spanish soap operas anything soon (I'm staying away from Telemundo's webpage) and can get stuff done.**

**I own nothing**

**Enjoy**

**********VF**********

**Chapter Eight – Let's Go To A Party**

"Tell me what I want to know Akihito or I will drag this on for the rest of the day if I have to. It would not be the first time I take a sudden day off and let Kirishima handle my affairs."

"I can't… pl-please"

Akihito sat upon a table in the secret room; his hands were tied behind his back with leather cuffs, he did not know what exactly Asami had shoved up his ass – there were just too many options – but whatever it was, was pushed right to his prostate and vibrated tortuously, a cock ring prevented him from his much needed release after almost two hours of sexual torture.

Asami teased, nipped and licked his nipples, kissed his neck and mouth, ran his hands all over his body and jerked his hard cock. The man seemed to be everywhere at the same time making it impossible not to think clearly. Somehow the position he was in and the things being done to him reminded him of his first time with the yakuza yet the circumstances were different at the same time.

"We made a deal, I am unsatisfied with your answers and you will tell me what I want to now."

The older man upped the dial on whatever was currently residing in Akihito's rectum making it vibrate stronger and the blonde gave a shudder of unsatisfied need.

"I need… need… to cum… please."

"Are you ready to talk?"

"God… yes, just…aghh ahh… fuck… me… ugh hmm… already."

'_Finally!'_ He had to comment his lover for holding on longer than usual but having to deny himself for so long while he waited for Akihito to break was getting to him. Asami considered a patient man but even his patience had a limit. Akihito felt the bark haired yakuza pull out the vibrating instrument and take the ring off. He sighed in relief and moaned in pleasure as Asami eased himself into him and started moving.

He had been on the edge for so long that it did not take him long to reach an explosive orgasm, his older lover kept pumping into him for some time until he too came undone. Two more rounds later they the photographer had passed out and after being cleaned by his lover was placed on the soft bed and held close to the warm larger body.

****VF****

They lay on the bed, Akihito's head rested over Asami's chest and a strong arm circled his waist keeping him close to the larger body.

"I wanted to warn you without completely disregarding her confidence, but I guess if I am not truthful to you, you will end up killing each other and as much as I care for her I…"

Akihito blushed furiously and looked away from Asami as if trying to decide if he should continue that sentence. Could he say those words? Should he say those words? He knew once Asami heard the open admission of his feeling everything would change between them and he wasn't sure if he wanted things to change. Asami held the blonde's chin in his hand and turned his lover's face so they could look at each other's eyes as he coaxed the younger man to continue talking.

"You….?"

"I care for you more, I… well, I… love you and I don't want to imagine life without you."

Golden eyes softened at his confession and looked at him with a fondness he had never seen in them before. He did not expect Asami to express his feelings in the same open manner but the sweet slow kisses the older man gave him more than conveyed what he already knew.

Asami's lips separated from his and his eyes instantly hardened in seriousness.

"Akihito, tell me what is going on and don't hide anything. I will know if you do."

Takaba related all he knew about Mina's past and the favor she had asked of him in great detail. Asami could not help his heart swell on pride for his lover's quick thinking and his protectiveness of him. Though he had to admit that this situation was getting complicated between assassins, possible spies and murderers. He needed to get Akihito away from that woman but first he would find who the mole is and quietly get rid of whoever was spying on his business.

****VF****

The two days later Akihito had lost his tails and was meeting with Mina in an apartment in Shibuya. She had changed her base of operations from the crummy apartment when she noticed one too many suited men walking too close to it. Akihito shared the pictures he took that had Asami obscured by shadow, he did one more job for her and told his friend he was almost caught snooping around.

"I did not get to see who the other man was, it was too dark where he was standing but a contact told me the deal was not going to happen. Apparently Tsumebara tried to con him and he backed from the deal."

"Smart man, it's best not to lay with snakes or one might get bitten. Besides it saves me having to kill one more person. I will keep tabs on Tsumebara's deal anyways, I will destroy that man. Akihito, lay low for a while. I don't have more jobs like that from you but I will need you on Friday a week from now. Make sure you are at the address I will send you by six. "

****VF****

Kirishima found some dubious emails coming out of one of the computers on Sion and followed the traces to his own assistant. His old assistant had taken leave six months before to undergo the last three months of pregnancy and the recovery time after childbirth plus some time to spend with her baby. Mayume-san, the replacement assistant, had come with the recommendation of his old assistant, the background information had come clean and the woman was very capable.

After finding out she was the spy they went looking for his old assistant and found the woman had been moved shortly after taking leave. They searched for her whereabouts but it seemed she had been spirited away.

Suoh took the spy to the warehouse to be questioned but no matter how much they beat and torture her she would not answer Asami's questions about her employer and ended up biting her tongue and taking her own life.

It was the biggest waste of time, they had wasted most of the day trying to get information about the woman making requests of his lover and getting him into dangerous situations, as if Akihito needed any help with getting into trouble. They almost found out where the woman was hiding when they lost track of her. It was as if she could disappear into thin air whenever the need stroke.

A nock on his door took him out of thoughts and Kirishima entered the office with an invitation to a charity event in one week. There was too much going on to be attending to social events but such events were crucial to make business with wealthy and influential people so he would have to attend regardless of how he left about it.

****VF****

On Thursday the week after, a private jet landed on a private airfield. Several workers went into the plane to do the cleaning and take the luggage to the waiting limo. One of the cleaning ladies was blonde, and wore the same uniform as the other ladies. The blonde woman walked behind some curtains and received a dress from a petite woman with short brown hair as she took off the blonde wig to reveal her long black hair. Ten minutes later an elegantly dressed woman stepped out of the jet followed by her personal assistant and a bodyguard.

They rode the limousine in silence as she read over some important documents and looked over a list of people who would soon start dropping like flies.

The next day Akihito knocked on the door to the condo in a luxurious building in one of the best parts of Shinjuku exactly at six, the building was of the same class as the one he lived in with Asami… and not too far away from it, which he was not happy about.

The door opened and a short woman let him into the tastefully decorated condo and led him to the living room, Mina entered the room holding some boxes. By the names on the boxes and the fact that Asami kept buying him stuff he did not ask for Akihito knew it was most likely very expensive man's clothing.

"You are just in time, here put this on." She wore an elegant long red dress with golden designs and her long black hair cascaded down her back. The jewelry she wore was clearly real diamonds and her makeup was simple yet tasteful. Mina looked nothing like what she did when the day they met at the park much less like she did when they were young.

"Why?"

"I am going to a benefit today and would like you to accompany me. These things are dreadfully boring and your company would be a much appreciated."

Akihito was more nervous than a cockroach in a chicken coop, Asami had left for a social event not too long before he left the penthouse and he was crossing his fingers in hope that they were not headed to the same place.

He dressed in the three piece suit and got his hair into some semblance of order. He prayed to every deity between heaven and earth that luck would be on his side and Asami did not attend the same benefit he was heading to as he rode the limo with his friend. Takaba was nervous and his hands had begun sweating, Mina looked at him with curiosity and wandered what had him with his nerves on edge as she handed him a dossier with the basic information he needed to learn about her in case someone asked how they met.

Karmina Rosenthal: Owner of Alberghi imports and experts, philanthropist, head of the Hope Institute of Learning and all its school branches in different countries as well as the Hope orphanages and youth houses, several electronics companies and a chain of cruises, she led several charities in benefit of children and battered women around the world and was the guest of honor of the benefit banquet they were heading to.

They were pen pals during junior high and had lost contact after she got adopted by Lukas Rosenthal but after some years without being able to reach each other but by change got in contact with each other, she had invited him to accompany her so they could catch up with each other's lives and continue their friendship.

Akihito had just finished looking over the information he needed to memorize when the limo came to a stop in front of the Park Hyatt Hotel. He swallowed a lump in his throat and forced himself to calm down before the door was opened for him. Takaba stepped out and extended his hand to aid his date out of the vehicle and she put her arm around his elbow as soon as she was out. Soon they were walking into the exclusive hotel as photographers took pictures of the people walking to the hotel doors, on the first row of photographers stood a stunned man he knew too well, Mitarai, whom he was sure would ask endless questions as soon as he cornered him and would not let go of the topic for a very long time.

*******************VF*****************

**Well, this is it for now. I have half of "Ride the Wind" Chapter 4 done and will probably finish it within the next two days. Then I will be posting a new chapter for "Wildlife Archives," and Chapter 2 of "Video-calls and Weekly Challenges." Either sometime this week or next I will post Chapter 2 of "Secret Admirer" and will include a second chapter to "The Gift" since someone requested Asami to do something more for Aki and I was hit by a wave of inspiration. If any of you have any suggestions/requests for any of these fics feel free to PM me and let me now and I will see what I can do about it. I have tons of stuff I am working on at the same time but have decided to give priority to the ones I just mention and work on my oneshots later.**

**Please review… I hope you enjoyed the chapter**

**Setsuna**


End file.
